Mimiko: no plan to impeach my deputy

Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko yesterday debunked a report that there were plans to impeach his deputy, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, for alleged ineffectiveness.

Speaking with reporters in his office in Akure, the state capital, Mimiko urged the public to disregard the story.

He denied directing the House of Assembly to begin the impeachment process, adding that there was no plan to replace his deputy.

According to a report published by some national newspapers (not The Nation), the Assembly has set a machinery in motion to impeach Olanusi for alleged non-performance owing to his ill health.

The report said the governor was concerned about his deputy’s health and had told Olanusi to produce the person that would replace him.

The Septuagenarian was said to have nominated his son, a development the governor was allegedly opposed to.

Mimiko, who just arrived from Abuja, said: “I have been receiving messages, calls and heard the report on BBC Hausa Radio Station that we are planning to replace the deputy governor. There is no such plan.

“Nobody is planning to impeach my deputy. He is part of this administration and is very active. He still has a lot to offer the present administration and the people. I urge the public to disregard the report.”

Olanusi, a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state chairman, has been Mimiko’s deputy since the administration began its first term on February 24, 2009.